Ghostly Halloween

Happy Halloween everyone!!

I actually finished my Ghost stitching earlier this month but I decided to wait until Halloween to post.... seems so much more like Halloween to post on the day!!

My "Ghost" is actually another square on The Trilogy's Halloween Sneak Peek that I have been been stitching for quite some time now...

Here he is all in his ghostly glory:

The whole piece looks like this at the moment:

I have one more square to stitch once I have finished the pumpkin and then it will just be the black border left to do!

Before I go I have one more pic to show you.... Jo asked us to show pics of any Halloween decorating that we do.  I generally don't decorate for Halloween but this year I did do something....

I decorated my Meerkats (this is an on-going Meerkat competition that I have going with a friend at work - we have started to decorate our Meerkats for various events and sharing the pics)

However you celebrate Halloween, have a great time.... and don't forget Jo's Halloween Blog Hop... my post is up showing my letter of the mystery phrase.

September and October Ornies....

Hi fellow Spooktacular Stitchers,

I actually have two Hallowe'en finishes for you today.  The first is my September "Ornie"  for "Words" and I use the term "ornie" carefully as it is probably too big to actually be an ornie but when I saw this design stitched on someone else's blog, I knew I just had to stitch it!

Moon and Cider Apple Cider

Needlework Press

28 ct overdyed fabric

Floss: as per designer

My October ornie for "Ghosts" is from this years JCS Hallowe'en Ornie Mag.  Again, when I saw this cute row of tipsy houses, I just knew that I had to stitch this one, too!

Bump in the Night

Tempting Tangles Designs

JCS Hallowe'en Ornie Mag 2015

28 ct overdyed blue fabric

Floss: I chose my own overdyed threads from my stash

I must admit that I am thrilled with both of these finished pieces - each have their own special brand of spookiness.

Now, Jo, I have a confession to make, despite having some lovely Hallowe'en pieces finished now, I have not decorated for Hallowe'en!   Aaagghh!

Why, you may ask?  Well, I have been super busy both at work and at home.  Work has been crazy busy with me having two prepare and present TWO full Business Cases for new projects in Eight weeks (you normally have about three months to prepare one!) and then my social life has been super busy because of my birthday this month - lots of fun outings and weeekends away and we are going away this coming (Hallowe'en) weekend, too - lovely!

So, there you have it, Jo, and everyone, my confession!  If I get a chance tonight I will try to pull out my Hallowe'en ornies and take a pic for you all.

Off to work now, 

love to you all, 

Kaye

Cheryl's October Ghost Ornament

OoooOoooOooo!  Look out!  I might put a spell on you!

This cute little ghost witch was stitched on 14 ct plastic canvas, backed with felt and embellished with a paper flower and polka dot button.

Freebie chart found here:  http://www.jessica-tromp.nl

I'm saving photos of my Halloween display for Jo's Halloween Blog Hop (there's still time to sign up).

Making lemonade out of lemons

It was a gorgeous weekend but the ragweed pollen was so high that I was stuck indoors.  I took advantage of my misfortune by stitching these 2 PS's Halloween pieces.  The batty one is from the Bump in the Night leaflet and the other is from Trick or Treat.

They don't fit our sal themes but I'd been wanting to stitch these:

Halloween Month is Here!

Here's my stitch for October.  This is also an ornament I've been wanting to stitch for a while, and if you look closely, there's actually a wee ghost hanging off the hat!  It's from the JCS Halloween Collection book.  Stitched on 28ct flash linen, DMC, purchased trim and beads.

And here's my Halloween tree.  I'm going to have to get a revolving stand to enjoy all the ornaments!

August Black Cat

Sorry to be the weakest link on this blog :(

Things have been busy.. but I'm happy to complete a small this month (although I believe it is supposed to be in August checked in). Oops :x

here it is:

(Mill Hill ~Autumn Harvest 1991, counted glass beads ornament kit)

Stitched in perforated paper

And for my Halloween corner.. 

Decorated with crocheted and stitching items.

Ghoul Tidings to you.

Jo's October Ornament

Just in case I run out of time this month to stitch a separate Ghostie ornie I am including this one!  It is Just Nan's Ghoulies and Ghosties so quite suitable:

That's the Ghostie part for this month!

Here is the Black Cats part used for August:

And here is the whole thing:

stitched on 32 count tan evenweave

There are so many nice little details in this design, from the witch's face to the goofy pumpkin including Nan's signature smyrna stitch spiders.

October - Ghosts and Halloween in my bedroom.

Halloween Cross Stitch

design by Lorraine Niestyo

★ ★

Rita's October Ghost

My choice came from the JCS 2012 Halloween special issue.  I had planned to use beads for the stars and the cat's eyes but didn't have the right colors at home (and I was too lazy to go out for some at the time).  I changed the color from orange to yellow for the stars.

Since I can't post a picture on a response to Jo's post about black cats, I thought I'd post a picture of my favorite black cat design that I've stitched.  As I stated in the response, my mom made a pumpkin costume for my sister one year and all 4 of my kids have worn it too.  (I've since sent the costume to my sister for her kids.)  Little did Mom know when she made that costume just how many kids would use it.  My BIL put together pics of all 5 of them wearing the costume.

BOAF Halloween Cat

I think Jo also asked about our Halloween decorations.  One thing I like to do for holidays is to frame into holiday frames pictures of our kids during a particular holiday and set them out with the holiday decorations.  I wish I could say I thought of that idea on my own but I "stole" it from a friend of mine.

C is for Coven, Cauldron and Cats - Revisited

When we first started this blog I made a series of posts beginning with each letter of the alphabet starting with A.  Unfortunately, they ground to a halt after L.  So in honour of The Alphabet Club hosted by Chiara I have decided to resurrect the original posts and link up each month with the rest of the Alphabet Club posters.  To learn more about this SAL follow the Alphabet Club link to Chiara's blog.

C is for Coven from A Dark Alphabet designed by Julie and Becky's Note of Friendship blog.

A coven is a group of witches of any number from three to thirteen.  Once the coven grows larger than thirteen it will split into two smaller covens to keep the number manageable.  One of the most famous covens is the trio of witches that Macbeth encounters on the heath who give him the prophesies that ultimately lead to his downfall.

And what does a coven of witches need to cast their spell?  A cauldron, of course!  A cauldron is simply a cast iron pot found in many homes in the past, used for cooking or maybe boiling up herbs and potions.  Like the broom and the cat a cauldron could be used as "evidence" by the Witch Finders that an innocent old woman was in fact a Witch!

I found lots of lovely cauldron patterns online:

The Stitcherhood

White Willow Stitching

And onto cats, our third C.  Black cats obviously as it is Hallowe'en!  In England black cats are seen as lucky animals as they are in Japan too.  However other areas are not so enlightened and view them as very bad luck.  To the extent that they are often left in cat shelters long after their multi-coloured friends have been adopted.  I have owned a black cat myself, named Spook who was very timid and shy.  We also adopted a stray for a while until she wandered away.  Here she is in a pot!

Many superstitious people believe that black cats can turn into other animals or even that the witch can take the place of her cat to spy on her neighbours.  Often, just owning a black cat would be grounds for accusing a woman of witchcraft.  So it is not surprising to find many designs featuring black cats (with or without accompanying witches!)

Fence Cat by Jaunty Fox Designs

JBW Hallowe'en Cat from JCS Hallowe'en Special 2012

And another:

Imaginating

So now it's over to you.  When you comment on this post please could you include a link to your favourite Black Cat cross stitch design.

Spooky Words

Here's my spooky eye chart for September.  I've been wanting to stitch this design for a while.  It was in one of the JCS Halloween issues, but I can't remember which one.  Stitched on 30ct WDW pumpkin linen, custom cording, and a little witch flying underneath!

Boo!

My Spooky word of the month.

Boo! 

freebie: Glory Bee

Gwen